September 18, 2013

Not Getting Anything Out of the Assembly

Worship

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’” (Psalm 122:1).

David expressed the attitude that we must have when it comes to assembling to worship the Lord – gladness. The assembly of the saints ought to be something to which we look forward.

Unfortunately, many do not look forward to this time. But rather than acknowledging their own poor attitude and making efforts to change their mindset, they often attempt to shift the blame to others. They will say, “I’m not getting anything out of the assembly!” In their minds, this provides justification for them to complain, become sporadic in their attendance, or quit assembling altogether.

In this article, we will focus on the attitude of one who claims to be getting nothing out of the assembly of the church. It is a dangerous attitude and we must guard ourselves against it.
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June 20, 2013

The Mission of the Church

Church building

There are many different churches all over the world. Why do these churches exist? What is their mission? That answer will vary from church to church as men fashion their churches according to their own desires. We will consider a few possible answers later in this article.

But what is the mission of the church of our Lord? The answer to this question will not be found in human opinion or tradition, but in the word of God that has been revealed to us in the Scriptures. So let us see what the Scriptures say about the mission of the church.
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February 14, 2013

“They Thought More of Me Than of My Lord”

The following is a quote from J.D. Tant (1861-1941) in which he described an experience he had with some brethren who differed with him on the issue of instrumental music in worship. Tant opposed instrumental music. The brethren he mentioned here accepted it. Yet for Tant’s sake, they did not use it while he was with them.
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November 20, 2012

“He Was Eaten by Worms and Died” (11/20)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Acts 11-12.

The death of Herod provides a few lessons for us. One lesson is that we must be careful of the type of praise from men that we are willing to accept.

“On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died” (Acts 12:21-23).

As a ruler of the people, many looked up to Herod and depended upon him. Some praised him as if he were a god. When this happened, he was struck by the angel and died a slow, agonizing death. However, it is important to note that Herod was not killed because the people wrongly praised him as a god. Notice a couple of examples of others who were not killed, even though they received worship that should have been exclusively for God.
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November 6, 2012

“Not One Stone Will Be Left Upon Another” (11/6)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Mark 13.

“As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down’” (Mark 13:1-2).

It is common for man to be impressed with the beauty and greatness of physical, man-made structures. This was the reason for this disciple’s remark on this occasion. As they left the temple, the disciple noted the impressive buildings that surrounded them. There was nothing necessarily wrong with this. But Jesus wanted to be sure that His disciples kept the proper perspective about such things.
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October 23, 2012

Are You Redeeming the Time?

[The following was slightly adapted from a sermon outline by A.W. Dicus entitled, ‘Christian Economics.’]

WatchesEach week contains 10,080 minutes. What do people do with their time?

The time spent by a fairly active church member on spiritual activities:

  • Attends on Sunday, three hours = 180 minutes
  • Attends on Wednesday night = 60 minutes
  • Reads the Bible two hours = 120 minutes
  • Prays 15 minutes daily = 105 minutes
  • Visits the sick, three hours = 180 minutes
  • Total time for the Lord = 645 minutes

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September 30, 2012

Uselessly Kindling Fire on the Lord’s Altar (9/30)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Malachi 1-4.

In the final book of the Old Testament, Malachi revealed God’s condemnation of worship that is not done in sincerity and truth.

“‘Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘nor will I accept an offering from you’” (Malachi 1:10).

It might seem strange to some that God would wish that someone would prevent others from offering sacrifices to Him. This shows, without any shadow of a doubt, that God does not accept all worship that is offered to Him. Notice the reasons why God rejected their worship here:
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